Saturday, January 2, 2010

Chiro, New Vet, and Acupuncture

This week was very busy trying to schedule appointments. Bug saw Cheryl on Wednesday. His head was out. Hello, noise sensitivity! She also felt that his iliopsoas was as tight as it has been for some time. John and I were thinking about this and we think it might be from bunny-hopping through the snow. Either way I will start to pay more attention to it.

We were able to schedule an acupuncture appointment with Anne Murphy who works with Sterling for this coming Wednesday. When I spoke to her I only mentioned the bicipital tendon and the Lyme+ status, but I know the acupuncture will also be very useful to Bug's iliopsoas. Given it is unlikely we will be herding again until late winter/early spring I am hopeful between the time off and the acupuncture Bug will be in awesome shape.

Thursday we saw the new vet and the visit was a huge success. I am so happy (at least right now) with my decision to change.

My biggest concern was Ike and his rabies vaccine. I explained that I was very concerned about vaccinating him given his reactivity. New Vet's solution: We will do the rabies titer on him and if his titer is high enough, given his reactivity, she will write a letter to the town for me. Happy dance!!

We also did a 4DX on Ike because since he tested Lyme+ 5 years ago (and was treated) none of the vets in the interim have done a 4DX or suggested a C6. We did the 4DX and it tested strong positive - so we sent out blood work for the C6. I am really curious what his antibody level will be and if it has anything to do with how odd he has been acting. We also took blood from Bug for his 6 month C6 follow-up.

I also asked specifically about tartar. Neither dog has much given the diet I feed and the fact that I do some brushing, etc. However I was curious if she knew of anything that worked. New Vet suggested Vetzlife Oral Care Spray. It has Grapefruit seed extract, Grape seed extract, Thyme oil, Neem oil, Rosemary oil, and Peppermint oil in it. I decided to try it. I am going to ask Dr. F but I do not think that Ike can use this because it contains peppermint oil and mint is a very strong homeopathic antidote. So, Bug will be the guinea pig. Has anyone out there used it?

With all the diagnostics it was an expensive visit, but I feel it was worth it. I am so relieved to be working with a vet who doesn't roll their eyes at me (literally!) and is willing to explore other options (like the rabies titer).

10 comments:

So glad you found someone who has more than a 5-diagnosis capability, and a huge list of (false) beliefx about various breeds. It should be a pleasure to work with your new vet. That's a great way to begin the new decade.

I have a similar tartar removing product. I haven't used it much on Marge, but I did notice great improvement in my cat's teeth. I should really start using it again. My one concern is that the product I use does have a small level of alcohol.

How does 'VetzLife' differ from 'PetzLife' spray? They seem to be the same thing but one must be purchased through a vet? We sold it at EFP, it was very popular.

At Strata's dental appointment, the doctor told me that if you aren't brushing every 24-48 hours it's basically pointless in terms of tartar build-up because it begins to harden after 24 hours. She actually tells clients not to bother brushing if they aren't going to do it that often because it's basically a waste, in her eyes.

About Me

Homeopathy Blog for the Boy

Ike

Silvermist Icebreaker NAC, CL1-R CL1-H (CGC TDI)

Ike is the first dog that is purely my own. We have overcome some big hurdles with his fear of people (how can you avoid them!) and continue to work on building our confidence in the sport of agility. Ike takes life at a much slower speed than I do, which is a challenge. My goal for our partnership is to figure out a sport or joint activity that Ike and I can enjoy equally and excel at together. This would be in addition to Ike's #1 sport, lounging on the couch; which I don't really enjoy or excel at.

Carmen

Carmen is a 9 yo salt-n-pepper Miniature Schnauzer from the same breeder as Ike. I started working with Carmen in the winter of '08 after my DH told me we could not get another dog until the end of 2008 (enter Bug 5/08). Little did I know how much joy she would take in agility and what a spitfire she would be. We are having a ton of fun working together. Unfortunately, Carmen was diagnosed with PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) in 10/08 and has been retired as her vision continues to change.

Bug (Honor)

CH Visions Cornerstone Dream On (CGC) TN-N

Bug (fka Honor) is a 5 year old CWC. He is a blue merle with tan points, a LOVELY temperament and a great work ethic. He finished his AKC championship 7/3/2010. Bug is looking forward to playing in Rally Obedience and tracking/Noseworks.